Punch for perforating nursing nipples



Oct. 17, 1961 K. BEIER PUNCH FOR PERFORATING NURSING NIPPLES Filed June 29, 1959 z. W W

1 Bear I JmJ/un l inited htates 3,004,342 PUNCH FOR PERFORATING NURSING NIPPLES Kenneth Beier, 410 Kedzie St., Madison 4, Wis. Filed June 29, 1959, Ser. No. 823,440 3 Claims. (Cl. 30--363) This invention relates to nipple punches for forming perforationsin nipples used with nursing bottles for small children, and the invention has for its general object the provision of a nipple punch that is unusually efficient, compact, convenient and inexpensive.

In mostca-ses the nipples used for infants nursing bottles are sold imperforate, and the mother or nurse is required to prepare such a nipple for use by punching a suitable number of holes in its closed end. One reason for imposing upon the purchaser the duty of perforating the nipple is that children of different ages require different numbers or sizes of perforations in the nipple to regulate the flow of milk therethrough to their individual requirements. Thus the nipple for a small or very young child should have relatively few or small perforations to restrict the flow of milk therethrough to his capacity and to prevent flooding, while the nipple for an older or larger child must have a larger number of apertures to suit his capacity, otherwise the nipple may be collapsed m use.

The usual method of perforating a new nipple has been to run a red hot needle through the closed end of the nipple. Aside from its obvious inconvenience, this past practice has been unsatisfactory because it does not provide reliable control of the size of the apertures produced, tends to leave black spots on the nipple if free carbon is deposited on the needle by the flame in which it is heated, and does not insure that the surfaces of the apertures thus formed will be smooth and free from projections against which food can lodge to create an unsanitary condition.

By contrast, it is an object of the present invention to provide a nipple punch which is extremely simple and easy to use, which produces perforations in a nipple that are all alike in size so as to permit of substantially accurate control ofthe flow rate through the nipple, and which produces apertures having smooth surfaces that offer no lodgements for food particles.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nipple punch which is inexpensive to manufacture and which is so small and compact that it may be readily carried in a pocket or purse, occupying little more space than a cigarette lighter. i

It is also an object of this invention to provide a nipple punch of the character described which can be very readily engaged with a nipple to be perforated, which does not become plugged or clogged with punchings removed from the nipple, and which features a minimum of parts, each having a very simple configuration, so that the nipple punch of this invention is not only inexpensive to manufacture and assemble but is very easy to keep clean.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construct-ion, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as'hereinaftcr described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood thatsuch changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the nipple punch of this invention having a nipple in place thereon for perforation:

FIGURE 2 is a side View of the nipple punch with the jaws closed to the position they assume when perforating a nipple;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the nipple punch, showing the perforating members in operative relationship to a nipple, the nipple and portions of the perforating members being shown in section; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side view of a nipple which has been perforated with the nipple punch of this invention, and also depicting one of the punchings removed from the nipple, portions of the nipple being broken away to show a longitudinal section of the nipple.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numeral 5 designates a nipple punch of this invention which comprises, in general, a pair of jaw members 6 and 7 hingedly connected to one another for rela tive swinging motion toward and from one another, and a pair of cooperating perforating members 8 and 9, each carried by one of the jaw members.

More specifically, the jaw member 6 is a substantially U-shaped body, having a longer leg 10 to which the jaw member 7 is connected and a shorter leg 11 which is adapted to project into and support a nipple 18 when the punch is in use. The other jaw member 7 is an elongated lever, one end of which is pivoted to the longer leg 10 of the :body to hinge the jaw members for relative swinging motion of the lever in the plane of the U- shaped body. The length of the lever is substantially greater than the distance across the legs of the body, so that when the lever is swung to its operative position, shown in FIGURE 2, extending across the shorter leg of the body with its medial portion 12 adjacent to the free end of said leg, the outer end portion 13 of the lever provides a handle which projects a substantial distance beyond the shorter leg. While the lever may be straight, it is preferably bowed along its length, as shown, with its medial portion curved away from the free end of the shorter body leg and with aslight ogive or reverse curve along its handle portion.'

The inner end of the lever is bifurcated, and its bifurcations 14 straddle and closely embrace the free end portion of the longer body leg. A pin 15 through the bifurcations of the lever and the longer leg of the body provides the hinge connection between the two jaw members. Preferably both the body and the lever are molded of a suitable plastic material, and if desired suitable trunnion members maybe molded integrally with either the bifurcations of the lever or the upper portion of the longer body leg, to take the place of the separate trunnion pin 15,. as will be readily apparent to those familiar with the design of molded plastic parts.

The bight portion 16 of the body is preferably provided with a protuberance 17 which is substantially in line with the shorter leg of the body and projects in the opposite direction from said leg. The punch of this invention is intended to be held between the fingers and thumb of one hand, with the forefinger engaging the bight portion 16 of the body and the thumb overlying the handle portion 13 of the lever, and the protuberance 17 prevents the bight portion of the body from slipping across the fingers when the device is held in this manner and pressure is applied to the hingedly connected members during perforation of a nipple. The curved configuration of the handle portion of the lever, described above, facilitates engagement of the thumb therewith.

Attention is directed to the compact size of the nipple punch of this invention, which enables it to be held and operated in the manner just described The length of the shorter leg 11 is determined by the depth of an ordinary nursing nipple 18, which fits over said leg with its closed end 19 resting on the free end thereof as illustrated in FIGURE 2. The perforating members 8 and 9, now about to be described, operate with such small force that only a relatively light converging pressure of the fingers and thumb is required to effect perforation of an ordinary nipple, further contributing to the ease and simplicity of operation of the device.

The perforating members Sand 9 respectively comprise an anvil providing a hard, substantially fiat surface at the free end of the shorter leg of the body, and a punch which is press fitted or otherwise secured in the medial portion 12 of the lever and which projects toward the anvil when the lever is in its operative position. The anvil may comprise a short length of round metal stock, press fitted or otherwise securely seated in a substantially coaxial well opening to the free end of the shorter body leg. The punch has a sharp annular edge 21 at its end adjacent to the anvil, defined by a frusto-conically tapering tip portion 22 and a coaxial well or bore 23 opening to said end of the punch.

To insure proper cooperation of the perforating members 8 and 9, the flat surface 20 of the anvil lies substantially in a plane through the jaw member hinge axis, and the axis of the punch is substantially perpendicular to said plane when the sharp edge of the punch is resting on the anvil surface 20. With this arrangement the punch moves substantially along its axis as it approaches the anvil, so that it can readily penetrate the material of a nipple resting on the anvil.

The aperture 24 formed by the cooperating perforating members when they are brought togetheron the material of a nipple has a substantially divergent outlet portion 25', opening to the outer surface of the nipple, and a substantially uniform diameter inner portion 26. The punching :27 removed from the nipple has, of course, the same configuration as the perforation and may be described as rivet-shaped, with a frusto-conical head 28, corresponding to the divergent portion of the aperture, and a substantially cylindrical shank portion 29 corresponding to the uniform diameter inlet portion of the aperture. Attention is directed to the fact that the apertures formed by the perforating members are smooth and free from irregularities which might provide lodgement for food particles, and, because of their divergent outlet portions, are readily cleaned.

The reason for the peculiar rivet-like shape of the punching made by thepunch of this invention, and the corresponding shape of the aperture which it forms, is believed to be as follows. Nursing nipples are made of substantially -resilient material, such as rubber, and therefore as theannular edge of the punch member is brought into engagement with the outer surface of a nipple it first depresses the material in its vicinity in relation to the surrounding material of the nipple. In consequence, the portions of the nipple near the surface thereof which is engaged by the punch member, and which lie radially outside the sharp edge of the punch member, are stretched as the punch member moves toward the anvil, while the material circumscribed by the sharp edge of the punch member is confined by the bite of said edge against similar displacement. Also, as the elastic material of the nipple is compressed between the punch member and the anvil, the portions near the surface of the anvil tend to flow radially outwardly and away from the anvil surface. With the elastic material thus distorted, the punch member makes a cylindrical bite. As soon as the punch member penetrates completely through the nipple and is withdrawn therefrom the nipple material elastically resumes its shape. The material nearer the anvil surface contracts, constricting the inner portion of the aperture, but since the material nearest the surface remote from the was stretched very little, if at all, at the time it was cutby the punch, the aperture therein will substantially correspond in diameter to the diameter of the annular edge on the punch, while the diameters of the aperture in portions of the material intermediate its surfaces will depend upon the extent to which they were stretched when the cutting edge penetrated the material.

Since the material of the nipple nearest the surface first engaged by the punch will inevitably be' stretched to some slight extent before the sharp edge of the punch penetrates it, the punching cut out by the punch will have a diameter which is slightly less than that of the bore or well 23 in the punch, and consequently the punchings will readily drop out of the well 23 of their own weight rather than plugging the punch.

It will be appreciated that the surface 20 of the anvil might be slightly concave, and the term flat surface as used herein to refer tothe anvil surface 20 is'intended to designate also a surface having some concavity.

It will also be understood that the shorter leg 11 of the body should have a thickness substantially less than the inside diameter of an ordinary nipple, to permit the nipple to be shifted laterally thereon so that different parts of the closed end of the nipple can be brought into perforating engagement with the punch.

From the foregoing description taken together with the accompanying drawing it will be apparent that this invention provides a compact, inexpensive and sturdy device for perforating the end of a nursing bottle nipple, featuring extreme ease and simplicity of use, freedom from plugging of the perforating members, and the production of apertures which are smooth and free from irregularities that might provide lodgement for food particles. 7

What is claimed as my invention is:

l. A punch of the type having a pair of cooperating perforating members, one of which is adapted to afford localized support to material to be perforated while the other is adapted to be pushed through the material to form an aperture therein, said punch comprising: a sub stantially U-shaped body having a pair of'elong-ated sub stantially parallel legs, substantially equal in length, said legs being long enough and spaced apart far enough so that one of them can project into a nipple with the closed end of the nipple resting on the free end of said leg, the bight portion of said body being adapted to rest against the fingers of an operators hand and having a protuberance substantially in line with said one leg and which projects in the opposite direction from the leg, said one leg of the body having one of the perforating members secured to its free end with its axis substantially aligned with said leg; and an operating lever having a length substantially greater than the distance between the legs of the body, said operating lever being pivotally secured at one end to the other leg of the body for swinging movement in the plane of the body toward and from a position in which the operating lever extends across the free end of the first designated leg, said operating lever having the other perforating member secured to its medial portion for engagement with the first designated perforating member when the operating lever is in its said position, and said operating lever having its free end portion extending at an oblique angle to its pivoted end portion, so as to be disposed at an acute angle to said first designated leg of the body when the operating lever is in its said position, thereby allowing an operator to conveniently apply pressure to the free end portion of the operating lever with his thumb while supporting the bight portion of the body with his fingers.

2. The punch of claim 1, further characterized by the fact that said other perforating member comprises a punch having one end thereof provided with a sharp annular edge defined by a frusto-conical surface on the punch tapering toward said end thereof and a coaxial well opening to said end of the punch; and further by the fact that said first designated perforating member provides a hard and substantially flat surface opposing the. sharp edge of the punch and against which the material of a nipple is adapted to be compressed by the punch as the punch bites into the nipple material to aperture it in con sequence of motion of the operating lever toward the free end of said one leg of the body.

3. A punch of the type having a pair of cooperating perforating members, one of which is adapted to afford localized support to material to be perforated while the other is adapted to be pushed through the material to form an aperture therein, said punch comprising: a substantially U-shaped body having a pair of elongated substantially parallel legs, substantially equal in length, projecting from one side of its bight portion, said legs being long enough and spaced apart far enough so that one of them can project into a nipple with the closed end of the nipple resting on the free end of said one leg, the bight portion of said body having its opposite side disposed at an acute angle to said one leg, said one leg of the body having one of the perforating members secured to its free end with the axis of said perforating member substantially aligned with said leg; and an operating lever having a length substantially greater than the distance between the legs of the body, said operating lever being pivotally secured at one end to the other leg of the body for swinging motion in the plane of the body toward and from a position in which the operating lever extends across the free end of the first designated leg, said operating lever having the other perforating member secured to its medial portion for engagement with the first dmignated perforating member when the operating lever is in its said position, and said operating lever, when in said position having its free end portion disposed at an acute angle to said one leg so as to be substantially parallel to said opposite side of the bight portion of the body, thus enabling an operator to exert punching pressure with his thumb against the free end portion of the operating lever and with his fingers against said opposite side of the bight portion of the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 230,296 Lippitt July 20, 1880 1,105,129 Freer July 28, 1914 1,363,105 Foss Dec. 21, 1920 2,590,984 Lorenzen Apr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 613,601 Great Britain Nov. 30, 1948 

